The 100 - Day 6

Dear bloggie,

Set 1 - 16
Set 2 - 17
Set 3 - 14
Set 4 - 14
Set 5 - 20

My gawd! Almost die at the last few reps in the last set...

Running Rant #1

Dear bloggie,

Inspired by the book "Born to Run" and the kwai lou trainer from SCKLM clinic, I'm trying out barefoot running...

There is this believe that running barefoot is actually less injury prone compared to running with the high tech cutting edge modern shoes we are so accustom to wearing. The logic: modern day running shoes, are equipped with a ultimate cushion at the heel which soften the impact when we land. This ultimately can lead to us actually landing on our heel when we run (land on heels = braking effect = bad bad bad) and also as we rely on this cushioning, some muscle around the ankle becomes weaken.

Running barefoot indirectly solve both of these problems. First of all, when we run barefooted, we tend to use a different running form. I experimented with this and can confirm, we will tend to take smaller strides (shorter steps distance), we also tend to land more on the ball of the feet instead of the heel (painful to land here barefooted). Besides that, we also will take lighter steps as ramming our leg into the ground like we normally do while barefooted is painful. Also without the cushioning on the heel, our muscle near our heel will be able to develop to endure more impact. More muscle = more protection.

The creed for running barefooted is:

"Think Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast. You start with easy, because if that's all you get, that's not so bad. Then work on light. Make it effortless, like you don't give a shit how high the hill is or how far you've got to go. When you've practiced that so long that you forget you're practicing, you work on making it smoooooooth. You won't have to worry about the last one - you get those three, and you'll be fast." - Caballo Blanco, Born to Run.

The 100 - Day 5

Dear bloggie,

Set 1 - 14
Set 2 - 16
Set 3 - 12
Set 4 - 12
Set 5 - 17

Karma

Dear bloggie,

About a year ago, when I first coded my first module... I was wondering wtf the code I copy and paste so many resource bundle codes to get the string for the labels for the UI. I tak kisah la, and proceed to hardcode the string in the code itself coz lazy wanna add a Bundle.properties + etc... After almost 1/2 year down the road, I thought to myself, "I'd sure pity the poor soul that gonna have to convert these hardcoded strings (not mine onli ok, my team mates also sometimes pang sai like tis one) to comply with internalization."

Today, I learn that paybacks is indeed a b*tch! During spring planning, I was assigned to the "My Gawd" task to fix any parts of the studio that has these hardcoded strings! TNS! MCH! CCB! Niaseng, I think got around 20+ components I need check one by one where got hardcoded string... I mainly fear is that if I changed these string values to read from Bundle files, it will screw up the business object values stored in db. Like for instance drop down, I can't just use the values directly from the drop down anymore coz the values will be in different language, so backend logic thing will screw up especially string comparison. Really amkhan liao lah... Already panic mode...

So, I got 9 days to clear this "My Gawd" task along with 4 minor tasks. My strategy is to quickly clear the 4 minor tasks (3 user story + 1 bug fix) in the next 3 days, so I got the remaining 6 days to work on the "Gawd Damn" task. I predict I won't be able to finish it in time and probably need to carry forward to next sprint.

Something

Dear bloggie,

The 100 - Day 4

Dear bloggie,

Set 1 - 14
Set 2 - 14
Set 3 - 10
Set 4 - 10
Set 5 - 15

Jom Kongsi Review

Dear bloggie,

Just back from watching "Kongsi". This action comedy can be summed up in 2 words...

"Giler Bodoh"

Most of the jokes are plain crude... It's fair to say half of the jokes are pretty funny while the other half fall flat. Watch out for the gangster changing their samseng outfit to imans outfit when they see a police roadblock scene, that scene really LOL... There's also some pretty hilarious reference to "One Malaysia". As for action, I have to say highly entertaining, especially the main hero assassin kicking the bunch of samseng malaysia @$$. Not to mention the awesome + stupid drift scene in KL street, dunno izt more proper to damn hebat or damn bodoh... The most glaring weakness of this movie is without a doubt the "tergantung" ending which ends with "Lu Langsi, Lu Mati"...

Anyway, overall the movie I have to rate higher than Merong Mahalawak. While the movie plot is f*cking stupid, but the fact that it is a comedy genre really covers for this weakness. A recommended watch movie, however bewarn as it's 18SG...

Sound of music...

Dear bloggie,

Rewatched the entire Gundam Seed series...

Shizukana Yoru ni, Beautifully haunting song


Mizu No Akashi, My personal favorite Lacus song


Fields of Hope, From Gundam Seed Destiny actually...


Remembered why I loved it so much back then (3-4 years ago) despite it being just a modern remake of the original Gundam series... One Two words "Pink Princess"

LOL

Dear bloggie,

"Lu Langsi, Lu Mati"...

The 100 - Day 3

Dear bloggie,

Set 1 - 12
Set 2 - 15
Set 3 - 9
Set 4 - 9
Set 5 - 15

Retro "touch"

Dear bloggie,

I just woke up awhile ago, and the first tune tat graced my mind was:



Incase if ur not born in the 80's era...



"Megatron has to be stopped. No matter the cost!" *Music roll*, Wahahaha... Classic...

McMoron Entry

Dear bloggie,

I'm f*ckin irked by the latest Mcon-can-job pulled by McD. What could possibly irked me more is the amount of moronic bozos that's are falling for their con can... Sweet Mother of McJesus!!! U wondering wat I b*tchin about? Well, take a look for urself...



Some people now would probably be going WWW (Woot!, Wow!, Walau Eh!) Wat a nice glass can... "Can" u dumbos be more bodoh ar!? Really BAKA U...

I can understand the Happy Meal con ki nah sai (kids) to buy la, but tua keladi (adults) also can be conned into eating a pile of fattening crapz for the sake of this cheapskate made in china "glass coke can"!? Really aiiiseehh....

Your entitled for a "free" con can if u purchase any one of the 14 large Mc"Value" (Yea, REAL value...) meals plus a damn bloody sundae. The damn glass also nothing much to shout about la. Sized like a coke can, made from glass (can u imagine if glass can not made outta glass?), can't really pour hot water inside as can crack.

Really sohai betul...



Anyway here's my blue glass can tat I got today by demolishing a McValue BigMac + banana toffee sundae... Woot!, Wow!, Walau Eh! ~I'm lovin it...

The 100 - Day 1

Dear bloggie,

Will be trying to ram up my pushup strength to 100 pushup according to this website workout schedule. Here's my day 1 workout log:

Set 1 - 10
Set 2 - 12
Set 3 - 7
Set 4 - 7
Set 5 - 12

Layla

Dear bloggie,

When most ppl hear "Eric Clapton", the 1st song that comes into their mind is the "Tear in Heaven". Well, here another awesome song by him which I happened to hear in the radio today...



I personally prefer the more faster + rockier version than the slow + accoustic version... But heck, the guitar riff got me on my knees...

My Smartphone?

Dear bloggie,

After almost 2-3 years using my cheap (200+ bucks) classic nokia phone, I decided it's time to join the smart phone madness and get myself a better phone.

Well, being a noob in mobile phones, I drilled down my choices to the simple 2 packages that are available in Digi:

HTC Desire HD vs Samsung Galaxy S

I'm leaning towards the HTC coz the specs does look more impressive, 8MB camera + flash, bigger screen, cool GUI and cheaper price tag. I however think it's a bit bulky to be stored safely in my pants pocket for someone like me that likes to jump here and there.I also read in reviews, that the HTC is a power drainer no thx to it's LCD screen. Hard choice... Pening kepala... Have to decided before 15 March as Suke has a 1K Digi phone voucher tat he willing to trade to me at 850 bucks. I reckon I can nego for a trade at 800, but need fast decide...

Zero to Ero

Dear bloggie,

Joined the KL marathon's Zero to Hero running clinic tis morning.

Today's clinic (or rather circuit) is held at Metropolitan Park Kepong. Imagine the agony of waking up at 5.30am and driving like a madman to get the venue (Suppose to start at 6.30am, but I think around 7am onli really start). This is the 4 week in their training regime, so I sorta missed alot of tips by the kwai lou trainer.

Today's session kicked off with the kwai lou ranting about nutrient. Alot I know already one since bodybuilding also use one. Things like:

• Carbs got 2 types, complex and simple. Simple easier absorb, complex will absorb slower. We go for complex, as it will fuel our body more consistently unlike simple which will give us a surge of energy before dipping.


• Protein, build + repair muscle after microfiber tears.


• Fat, 2 types of fat, Unsaturated and saturated. Unsaturated good, saturated bad.

Also talked about hydration. Need to constantly hydrate oneself. If pee is yellowish lemon color, ok. Else dehydrated. Drinking during the race, won't prevent hydration coz it takes a couple of hours for the water to go down to our body, so we need to hydrate ourself BEFORE the race.

Other wonderful tip:

• Drink soup before running as the soup is salty and will promote u to drink when running


• Female during menstrual need iron. Eat red meat or dark poutry. Dun drink coffee or tea with meals but instead drink drinks with high vitamin C.

After all the talk, we move on to warm up by doing some stretching and light jogging. Finally, we line up according to our category. I was in the 10K category. To my amazement, the clinic even had some officials from FDA (I think) to measure the route and fire the pistol at the start of the run.

Coming back from a 1 month + layoff from running, I already knew tis won't be an easy run. My stamina tat could survive a 21K is gone, my pacing sense is hay wired, my quads muscle lost their endurance, my mental strength to push through the pain is terrible... Really zero. 1st 3.4K lap clock a pretty good 16+ minutes. 2nd lap, my body went to holland, struggle to maintain pace and managed onli to finish the lap at 40+ minutes. I thought after completing the 2nd lap, end of story run, mana tau the guy at the line ask me to continue running till 45 minutes as the training is based on time and not distance. The clock strike 45 minutes even before I reach 1/4 of my 3rd lap. I decided to sweat it out and try to finish my 3rd lap within the hour mark. Painful run I can tell u. I missed my hour mark by 5 minutes+ !?. In summary, I finished a 11.2K (3.4K x 3) in 1 hour 5 minutes, really really slow considering I wan to dip into the 10K in 50 minutes time. Sad...

After the run, got a free power bar. Also NB (New Balance) was holding a small booth there and was offering to test what foot type ur feet is for free. Since free, I go lor. Anyway here is where, the "Zero" become "Ero"... There was tis NB gal promoter tat was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top, walau eh... She was bending when she go test people foot. Alot of batang was standing near the shoe display, pura-pura seeing the shoe but actually enjoying the "other" display. Got a guy, so mesmerized when she was testing his foot, after the test, he almost tripped from the test area... -_-'. I actually ended up being tested my foot by her, wah... Really hard to concentrate on wat she talking with her slightly bend over, showing her "assets" at me. Managed onli to capture 1/2 of wat she saying, the other half of my attention was focus on her 1/2... Did the wet foot test, my foot is normal arch type. She also gave me test a new shoe from NB.

I also signup for the KL marathon here, as they were offering a special "early bird" rate if one signup there. I paid 50 bucks instead of the normal 60 buckaroos for my 10K category. I also selected a rather interesting name instead of my real name to put in my bib... Hehehe...

After that entertainment, I went to a group of runner that was surrounding the kwai lou trainer. They where shooting question on running at the kwai lou. Here, I have to really take my hats off to the kwai lou. Not only is the answers provided by the kwai lou very informative, but it was very easy to understand and delivered in a rather entertaining manner. The kwai lou not only give the answer, but back up the answer with r&d studies, demonstration and funny stories. Here I learn some rather interesting things:

• Static stretching seems to be a rather useless thing to do. According to the kwai lou, it takes around 20 minutes maintaining a static stretch to show some results. It's better to do some dynamic stretching instead, and do it only after u do some light jogging during ur warm up. The logic here is when u stretch before warming up ur muscle abit, ur muscle is totally unprepared and to suddenly stretch it, can lead to injury.


• Drinking a power gel can supply one with enuff energy for around 1K


• Did u knew 100 plus is actually a banned drink in Euro due to it's high content of salt!?


• Running uphill, one need to raise knee less while maintaining a high cadence. For downhill, one should race down (onli on real race day) the hill with arms swinging across ur body.


• The most interesting topic however is the topic on foot landing when running. I read alot of articles in the internet and it's a very alot of theory topic. The kwai lou answer however I like coz very blunt. Running with less cushioning in the heel is the best way to go. In other words, barefoot running is the best. Why? Coz with the cushioning in the heel area, it will lead to us depending on this cushion when running. Some of us will land on our heel as the cushion absorb the impact of the landing. Landing on the heel is not so efficient becoz it take more time for the feet to take off again. Imagine ur feet landing on the heel, continuing the flow, the feet slowly row forward from heel, ball and only toe before u can take u feet up again for ur next step. Comparing that to running on the ball of ur feet, u can take off faster, hence energy is more properly utilized. The kwai lou informed us tat it been proven that barefoot runners suffer less injury. Running barefoot however has one drawback, one need to strengthen one's leg before one can do it. Having being spoiled by modern days jogging shoes that have awesome cushioning at the heel, our leg suffers in terms of some muscle around the foot not getting properly developed. So for us to transition to barefoot, we need to do it in a gradual manner. The kwai lou tips is to each time we buy a new shoe, pick one that has slightly less cushioning at the heel than the previous shoe. That way, our leg muscle can slowly adapt to the impact of running. The kwai lou states, it will take around 3-4 years to convert.

After the Q&A session, I went home a happy man, coz I learn something new (Not to mention "see" something new as well). Look forward for the next clinic on the 15th. The kwai lou won't be there, but got another kwai lou runner which tis kwai lou say is even more knowledgeable than him will be there for Q&A on that day. Didn't manage to change to Zero to Hero tis time around, but change to Ero instead... Till next time, adios...